Today’s reading invites us to contemplate what the signs will be of the end of the world. Think of all the wars in the word and the situations of conflict that still exist.
However, the end of the world isn’t necessarily a topic we give much thought to – although sometimes the challenges and difficulties we face can make it seem like the end of the world! Believers and unbelievers alike acknowledge that one day the end will come – life on earth cannot be forever. Scientists suggest that our sun will burn up the earth in about five billion years, and throughout history false prophets have proclaimed with dogmatic certainty that the ‘end is nigh’, only to be exposed as frauds and charlatans.
The truth is, no one knows the day or the hour of our own death or the end of life on earth. What we do know, however, is that we can rely on a number of key truths. The first is that Christ lives and he has overcome death and the powers of darkness. We can also be certain that Christ is with us. In Christ the future world has already begun. The future is not darkness, confusion or fear, but by having a sure confidence that God is with us we can face it with courage and dignity.
We believe that the Lord will return – as Judge and Saviour. Jesus is the good judge: we know his face that of the Risen Christ, of Christ crucified for us. We walk and live by faith, not by sight, and even if we might rather leave the body to live with the Lord, what definitively matters is that we live lives that are pleasing to him.
